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by David P. Greisman

Erik Morales has officially been charged with anti-doping violations by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for allegedly testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol prior to his October 2012 rematch with Danny Garcia, according to a copy of the correspondence sent to Morales by the agency and obtained by BoxingScene.com.

A USADA review board concluded that two samples taken from Morales — one on Oct. 3, another on Oct. 10 — provided “sufficient evidence of an anti-doping rule violation,” reads the letter, which is dated Feb. 8.

“You have agreed to abide by the Code and the Protocol, and that any positive test result(s) from a Sample provided by you would be managed pursuant to the Protocol, which has previously been provided to you,” the letter reads.

It then describes the sanctions Morales would be subject to for his first anti-doping rule violation:

“Up to a two (2) year period of ineligibility, as described by Article 10.2 of the Code, beginning on the day you accept a sanction, fail to request a hearing or fail to respond, or the date of the hearing decision in this matter, from participation in any activity or competition organized by or under the auspices of any signatory to the Code or any member of any signatory, including ineligibility from participating or coaching in Olympic, Pan American Games or Paralympic Games Trials, or being a member of any Olympic, Pan American Games or Paralympic Team; and,

“Disqualification of the competitive results obtained subsequent to October 3, 2012, the date your urine Sample #1546299 was collected, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes consistent with Article 10.1 of the Code.

“Furthermore, if it is determined that you are subject to the application of aggravating circumstances as described in Article 10.6 of the Code, your potential period of ineligibility may be increased up to a four (4) year period of ineligibility.”

Morales announced his coming retirement — following perhaps one farewell bout in his native Mexico — after being knocked out by Garcia in October. While USADA’s ban wouldn’t necessarily need to be respected by athletic commissions in the United States, it could potentially pose a tremendous obstacle for him to be licensed to fight in some states.

Morales has until Feb. 18 to let USADA know whether he is accepting or contesting its sanctions. If he does not choose to contest the sanctions, and if he does not request a five-day extension in order to make his decision, then the sanctions against him would begin that day.

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Matthew Macklin has challenged Irish middleweight rival Andy Lee to put up or shut up following Lee's claims over the weekend that Macklin would be one of his "easier" fights. (1 minute 48 seconds into the following interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-z6nHEhXP4 )

Lee made the bizarre claim prior to a points win over Anthony Fitzgerald in Belfast having already called out Macklin in a recent radio interview where he said, "That's definitely the fight I want so now I think it's time for us to get it on. We're fighters so why not fight each other. We're both with the same promoter so there are no obstacles really."

Both men are under contract to US promoter Lou DiBella and Macklin says it's time for Lee's actions to match his words.

"Lou has a HBO television date for May 11th and I know he wants to match myself and Andy on that show," revealed Macklin. "We're both promoted by Lou so as Andy himself said there are no obstacles to making the fight. It could be made in 5 minutes, Lou has a TV date for it and I want the fight so the only question is does Andy really want it or does he just want to be seen to want it?

"I've always said I'm open to fighting Andy but it's only recently that I've heard him talk about a fight between us and now he says it would be an easy fight for him. He obviously didn't think that back in 2010 when he turned down a written offer by Brian Peters to fight me in Ireland for a six figure purse.

"I didn't make a big deal about it at the time out of respect for Andy. It would have been an easy fight to make then and it's even easier now. I was surprised when I saw him say that a fight with me would be one of his easiest fights and I pulled him up on it on Twitter but he's gone very quiet since then. I honestly don't believe he fancies it and never has but he is after digging a hole for himself with his recent comments so it's time for him to put up or shut up.

"Face to face Andy has always been very respectful to me over the years and we got on quite well. I was one of the few that went over to El Paso, Texas last year to support him when he was stopped by Chavez Jr. for the WBC title. He's a decent boxer but privately he and the people around him have always known that I have his number. I've already told Lou that I'm happy to take the fight so if Andy wants it all he has to do is call Lou and we can get it on. Otherwise he needs to stop talking about a fight he's afraid to take and get on with his own career."

Macklin's manager Brian Peters says it's the fight that boxing fans are desperate to see. "I was surprised by Andy's comments," said Peters. "It seemed out of character for him but it was music to Matthew's ears because he has always wanted the fight. It's a fight that boxing fans have wanted for years and it's a fight I tried to make before but with both guys being promoted by Lou there's absolutely no reason why it can't happen now on May 11th."

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By Alexey Sukachev

According to local sources in Krasnodar, Southern Russia, the return of former WBO middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog (20-0, 15 KOs), which was scheduled to take place in March, is once again cancelled. Pirog, who was forced to relinquish his WBO title in 2012 and is now rated #3 in the newest WBO's ranks, is said to be still sufferring from severe problems with his back - the same problems he had experienced before the Javier Maciel fight in March 2011 and later after his most recent win over Nobuhiro Ishida in May 2012. Pirog, 32, missed the date of pre-planned recovery. No certain dates or plans regarding the career of the undefeated boxer, have been yet announced by his doctors or Pirog himself.

A TEAR ran down the face of Michael Katsidis when he learnt he would most likely never fight again.

But despite the raw, painful emotions swirling through the mind of the Toowoomba fighter devastated by the results of a damning medical report, he turned to his trainer Johnny Lewis and said "Thank you''.

Katsidis had started training with Lewis, Australia's most successful boxing coach, late last year with a view to rebuilding his career and chasing another world championship.

It was Lewis who had insisted that Katsidis, 32, have stringent CAT scans and MRI tests at a Sydney clinic before he fought again. Lewis was justifiably worried about the health of the fearsome brawler, a 2000 Olympian whose face-first slugging style carried him through 20 years of hard fights around the world as an amateur and professional.

Katsidis, who twice held versions of the world lightweight title, was due to fight Filipino Weng Haya in Melbourne on February 21 in a bout he hoped would revitalise his career after four losses in five fights.

But yesterday Katsidis was forced to post on his Facebook page: ``Unfortunately I have had to pull out of my fight on feb 21st. I have a story to tell and I will be telling it, but right now I need to talk with my family, management as well as medical staff. Thanks for your support and understanding.'' Lewis said the news was heartbreaking - but in boxing it was always better to be safe than sorry. "Rather than be really sad, we should be glad that Michael is not going into a fight with a question mark over his health,'' he said. "He wants to speak to his family first before announcing anything but really I'm glad the tests have stopped him fighting before something really bad happened. "Boxing is a tough sport and it's no good taking chances with your health. Michael is a great bloke with a wife and young daughter and he has so much in his life to be happy about even though this chapter of his boxing career is closing.''

It is a double blow for Katsidis whose brother, star jockey Stathi, died in Brisbane after an all-night bender in 2010.

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By Miguel Rivera

World Boxing Council (WBC) President Jose Sulaiman is standing behind the match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero. Mayweather returns on May 4th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mayweather recently named IBF champion Devon Alexander as the frontrunner to face him.

Sulaiman wants Mayweather, the WBC's champion at 147, to fight Guerrero, the WBC's interim-champion at 147, in order to establish the true WBC beltholder at welterweight.

If Mayweather wins, the WBC will support a match with WBC 154-pound champion Saul "Cenlo" Alvarez.

"We want Mayweather to fight against Guerrero so there is a single [WBC] champion in the welterweight division. After that we will definitely support entirely a fight between Mayweather and Canelo. We want Mayweather to first unify the [WBC] titles because Guererro won an eliminator and became that interim-champion. But, interim-titles do not exist under the WBC. It was created because Mayweather went to jail and we didn't want to remove the title from him - but at the same time we didn't want to freeze the title," Sulaiman said.

Regarding Canelo, Sulaiman says the boxer should meet Mayweather at a catch-weight, but under no circumstances should he agree to go down to 147.

"I do not think Canelo should go down to 147 pounds. They should agree to fight maybe at 150. Canelo can go down by four pounds and Mayweather can come up by three," Sulaiman said.

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by David P. Greisman

Former junior-middleweight titleholder Bronco McKart has suffered an injury in training camp and will no longer be facing middleweight prospect J’Leon Love on Showtime on Feb. 23, according to a report by the Detroit Free Press.

“I’d been sparring middleweights and heavyweights, and everything was fine,” McKart told the Detroit Free Press. “Then I spar a guy around 135 pounds, and he lands a freaky shot under my right ribcage. It didn’t hurt much at the time, but a couple days later, I couldn’t breathe properly. I went to the hospital for X-rays and was told I had bruised the ribs and could easily have suffered a punctured lung.”

McKart, who lives less than an hour away from Detroit — where the card is taking place — is about a month away from his 42nd birthday. He captured a world title at 154 pounds in 1996, losing it in his first defense, against Winky Wright. His career has included several comebacks; his most recent return began in 2012, with a majority decision win last April over a 17-9-1 fighter named Jose Medina and then a seventh-round technical knockout loss to Anthony Mundine in July, according to BoxRec.com. That brought his record to 54-10-1 (32 knockouts).

Love, a 25-year-old who originally hails from Michigan, is 14-0 with 8 knockouts. His last appearance was in November, a sixth-round technical knockout of Tyrone Selders.

Findley, 28, has been a measuring stick opponent for several prospects, including Andre Ward in 2006, Andre Dirrell in 2009, Matvey Korobov in 2010 and Fernando Guerrero in 2011. He is coming off a second-round stoppage of Ronald Hearns, a victory that brought his record to 20-8 (13 knockouts).

The Showtime broadcast initially was to have been headlined by Devon Alexander vs. Kell Brook, but Alexander suffered what he said was a biceps injury. That pushed the junior-middleweight title bout between Cornelius Bundrage and Ishe Smith into the main event.

BoxingScene.com has sent an email to a Showtime spokesman to find out whether Love vs. Findley would be part of the “Showtime Championship Boxing” undercard or would instead be one of the preliminary bouts broadcast on Showtime Extreme. This article will be updated when more details are available.

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By Ryan Burton

Over the past year Diego Magdaleno (23-0, 9KOs) has been campaigning for a shot at a world title. The undefeated super featherweight contender will finally get his chance when he faces WBO champion Rocky Martinez (26-1-2, 16KOs) on April 6th in Macau. In a conversation with BoxingScene.com, Magdaleno said that he was surprised his first world title fight would happen in Asia and is excited to finally have the opportunity.

"This is huge. The biggest fight of my life is in China. Who would have thought, of all places?" Magdaleno stated. "It's an honor and the greatest feeling. I'm more motivated than ever before because this time it's the real deal and I'm going to make Las Vegas and all of my fans very proud. This will be an adventure I'll never forget."

Magdaleno is fulling recovered from a hand injury he suffered in December that caused his last scheduled fight to be canceled. He said that he is training very hard for the fight and that he has a lot of respect for his Puerto Rican adversary. The Las Vegan said that Martinez is a good fighter but feels that his superior skill set will lead him to victory.

"I think Martinez is a durable guy who comes to fight. He comes in shape but is limited in what he can do. I saw both of his last two fights and he was the same slugger. I know what I bring to the table and know it's not a gamble. I'll be 110% ready to go to War!" Magdaleno told BoxingScene.

Two time Chinese Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming will face an opponent to be determined in the main event. WBO/WBA super flyweight champion Brian Viloria will defend his titles against Juan Francisco Estrada in the co-feature.

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By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com has been advised that a potential fight between Amir Khan (27-3, 19KOs) and Josesito Lopez (30-5, 18KOs) is a "no-go" due to weight. Khan has a set date on Showtime for April 20th. He would like to stage that match in the UK, where he has not fought since April 2011.

Lopez, who last fought at junior middleweight for his match with Saul Alvarez last September, was open to the idea of meeting Khan at a catch-weight of 145 - and Khan was looking for something much closer to the junior welterweight limit of 140.

Khan recently faced a similar issue with former WBA welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (33-1, 22KOs). As with Lopez, Khan wanted to face Senchenko at a catch-weight close to the junior welterweight limit. Senchenko was unwilling to go below 146.

Another possibility, for Khan, is Humberto Soto. The Mexican veteran returned to the ring on Saturday in Mexico to decision Silverio Ortiz (26-14) but he wasn't exactly impressive in doing so.

For Lopez, there have been discussions about matching him against Marcos Maidana (33-3, 30KOs) in a welterweight fight. Sources close to the negotiations have told BoxingScene that "both sides" are very interested in the fight. Maidana-Lopez would be a very physical match, with high drama, and because of their styles I wouldn't expect it to go the distance.

A TEAR ran down the face of Michael Katsidis when he learnt he would most likely never fight again.

But despite the raw, painful emotions swirling through the mind of the Toowoomba fighter devastated by the results of a damning medical report, he turned to his trainer Johnny Lewis and said "Thank you''.

Katsidis had started training with Lewis, Australia's most successful boxing coach, late last year with a view to rebuilding his career and chasing another world championship.

It was Lewis who had insisted that Katsidis, 32, have stringent CAT scans and MRI tests at a Sydney clinic before he fought again. Lewis was justifiably worried about the health of the fearsome brawler, a 2000 Olympian whose face-first slugging style carried him through 20 years of hard fights around the world as an amateur and professional.

Katsidis, who twice held versions of the world lightweight title, was due to fight Filipino Weng Haya in Melbourne on February 21 in a bout he hoped would revitalise his career after four losses in five fights.

But yesterday Katsidis was forced to post on his Facebook page: ``Unfortunately I have had to pull out of my fight on feb 21st. I have a story to tell and I will be telling it, but right now I need to talk with my family, management as well as medical staff. Thanks for your support and understanding.'' Lewis said the news was heartbreaking - but in boxing it was always better to be safe than sorry. "Rather than be really sad, we should be glad that Michael is not going into a fight with a question mark over his health,'' he said. "He wants to speak to his family first before announcing anything but really I'm glad the tests have stopped him fighting before something really bad happened. "Boxing is a tough sport and it's no good taking chances with your health. Michael is a great bloke with a wife and young daughter and he has so much in his life to be happy about even though this chapter of his boxing career is closing.''

It is a double blow for Katsidis whose brother, star jockey Stathi, died in Brisbane after an all-night bender in 2010.

I am sad, and happy at the same time. I know after watching his last 2 fights he SHOULD retire. But I will still miss him.

I have never rooted so hard for anyone as I did Kats. When he knocked JMM down i almost puked from excitement. I wanted him to win so bad. And then the post fight interview where he broke down over his brother? one of the saddest things I have ever seen.

None the less he was in some great fights, gave world class fighters all they could handle and cemented his legacy as one of the most exciting fighters of our era.

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